The company has grown from 2 to 15 employees in the space of a year. – Bluenav
- The Arcachon-based start-up Bluenav has been offering a hybridization solution for pleasure boat engines since 2020.
- It makes it possible to equip a boat with electric turbines while keeping the heat engine, and to switch from one to the other very quickly.
- The company plans to employ around 40 people in total by the end of 2022.
“When you sail with a heat engine, there are vibrations, noise, odors and pollution,” lists Thomas Frouin, co-founder with his father Hervé de
Bluenav, a company specializing in hybridization boat engines. Electricity solves these problems but as its development is not yet fully completed, we want to bring the transition solution until the electric is 100% reliable. “
It was in 2016, by launching the activity of another company, e-nautic (which installs new technologies on boats), that the father and son understood that a French manufacturer of electric motors was missing to make in the face of demand. Maturing their project since 2018, they created Bluenav together in 2020.
Switch from one engine to another in seconds
Their new company proposes to install electric turbines on pleasure boats, without removing the heat engine. The user can then switch from one to the other in just a few seconds, and rely on the conventional motor in the event of an empty battery (its autonomy is five hours). “If we want to go quickly to the Banc d’Arguin, for example, we switch to thermal mode and when we approach it, we switch to electric mode,” explains Thomas Frouin.
To navigate offshore, we will favor the heat engine and on sensitive coastal areas or the entrances and exits of the port, the electric is more suitable. “When you want to enjoy a moment with your family, have a drink, quietly, you can be electric,” suggests the co-founder. It offers a cruise mode, with a speed of seven to eight knots. “
The sales targets are already met for this year. “For the 2021 season, we didn’t want to sell more than ten engines because it’s the first season, we need to have a follow-up on these turbines,” he continues. We will watch them run all season long on the pool, to see if any adjustments are necessary. “The order book for 2022 is already starting to fill up. Installed in brand new 700 m2 premises rented by the port of Arcachon, the company employs fifteen people and hopes to have around forty employees by the end of 2022.
For now, the use of an electric motor on pleasure boats is still a high cost. It does not allow to present a financial interest, by saving refueling. However, boaters with rather high-end boats seem to appreciate its advantages in terms of navigation comfort.